Beginning Feb. 1st each year, a seasonal wildlife closure will be in effect on Redgarden Wall in Eldorado Canyon State Park to protect nesting and roosting sites of the canyons falcons. The closure is in effect through July 31st unless lifted early due to early fledging or inactivity.

Raptor Closure:​Shirt T​ail Peak is CLOSED to all activities, including rock climbing, effective immediately to protect Golden Eagles nesting in the area. The closure is federally mandated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Description

A variation of a variation, this route deserves better. It's an independent line with a sustained upper wall and good moves. The upper wall is steep and intimidating with a closed-off thin crack, but there is gear everywhere, hidden holds, and decent rests. This should be the direct start to Super Slab as its difficulty is more in keeping with that of Super Slab.

Rossiter calls this 10c s, but the gear is excellent, although pumpy at times to place, and occasionally tricky. Erickson calls it 10-. I'd say it may be a 10c effort, but with moves in the 9 and 10- range.

It appears that the original Super Slab Direct aid line started on the 11c that is now known as Super Slab Direct and finished on the upper half of the line I'm describing here. But I'll describe this line with an easier, more consistent and independent start.

Start: On the left edge of the Suparete face is a thin crack system. Start directly below this at a right-facing groove that becomes low angle just above. This is where the scramble up to the Lower Ramp begins. Just left of the start is the start of Super Slab Direct with a pin a short ways off the ground.

Climb the groove to a roof. The low-angle section is runout but easy. Step right around the roof, get a piece to guide the rope, and step back left. You may be able to run the rope over the roof, but I was concerned about rope drag and sharp edges. Climb up to a fixed pin that can be backed up. The hardest technical move may be the move above the pin. Above that the crack closes off, but it takes a good small brass nut and a bomber bigger nut above. Continue to a shallow right-facing corner and up to a bulge. Good cams, red Camalot size, protect the reach over the bulge. Optionally place another piece (but it's hard to hang around) and make a move right to the easier climbing at the top of Suparete. Top out at the base of Super Slab. There is one bolt where you top out, and you can get gear in some big blocks.

Rap of the large tree down and right with a 60m rope that doesn't quite reach the ground, but close enough.

Protection

Double brass. I used Astros and HB offsets. Single or double nuts to about 1/2". There were a couple of great HB offset placements. Double or triple Aliens from green to red or equivalent. Bring one set smaller in case you see a placement I didn't. Single or double bigger cams to red Camalot. 20 slings and draws including a bunch of long ones. With this gear you can lace it up. If you're real solid at this grade you can get by with singles of everything.

Went back today, the day after doing this the first time, to get photos. In better weather and knowing that it's not S, our party agreed this is easier than 10c--10b or maybe even 10a. You can also get by with less gear than I listed. Thinking it was going to become S at any moment, yesterday I put in multiple pieces at every stance.

I noticed today that you can go left at the top rather than exiting right to the top of Suparete. You can either step right and then easily step left, or go left as you come over the bulge above the shallow right-facing corner. I scoped it out, but didn't lead it. There is good gear and a hand jam (#2 Camalot), maybe 10 more feet of hard climbing, making this a completely independent line.

Did this recently and was pleasantly surprised to find such a nice pitch that I didn't even know existed before. It's much better than it looks. I concur with Ivan's 10a or 10b rating for the lower part of the route, but if you take the left overhanging crack finish it's solid 10d. This left finish is wild and highly recommended.

I could have sworn that SS Direct started on the trail, with an 11+ move past a pin. . . ? The pin is solid but you can back it up with a small'n in a scar right above it. If you are shorter, it's more like an opening move(s) of 5.12. A great start indeed with 5.4 to 5.10 pitch to the base of Super Slab.

Yes, Super Slab Direct starts left of th route described here. This is the variation to SSD as listed in Rossiter. I've described it here with a separate start that is more consistent with the grade of the upper face. Feel free to do the 11+ SSD start and continue with the route described here.

I was a little freaked out on this pitch. I had read a post about rabid bats being found in Eldo earlier in the morning. When I reached the key undercling near the traverse to Superarete, a bat started going crazy from the undercling. I quickly moved past the undercling to the key jug before the traverse. I soon noticed yellow jackets streaming out of the crack around my hand. Luckily, they were still a little cold and not too feisty. An exciting lead....

This is definitely not the route Chris and I did! We were well right of this, and there were no similar cracks. I may have been causing some confusion with comments on Super Arete and the route Chris and I did, which I have submitted as Quantum Mechanics. That's because I now think Super Arete starts on the talus? If so, it also has no relation to the route I lead.

On October 3, 2012, I led (belayed by Dan Hackett) the "improbable feature" to the left of "Eat Or Be Eaten".... We don't know if anyone has done this line before, but it is well worth the effort!! Climb the 5.6 corner to start, then keeping left at its top to gain the broken ledge at the base of "Kor Direct". Start up the "Kor Direct", instead of trending left to black rock, continue up and right to the obvious, 2" crack that disappears up into the clean face.(I've up climbed this way and traversed back left to the "Kor Direct" and is a fun way to go also....) Place a few bomber cams in the disappearing crack. Step out right below a shallow, right-facing, seamless corner that leads up into the wide looking crack out the left side of the roof above. A series of runout liebacks brings you under the roof where you place a reachy, thin nut before continuing... A #3.5 Camalot protects the steep wide slot up to 5.9 climbing above.... I feel the difficulty was very similar to the the roofy cruxes at the top of "Eat Or Be Eaten" with an "R" rating. This is really an awesome pitch at 5.10b R, and we call it "Tweener Act".